1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to organic compounds useful as pesticides and more particularly to carbamate derivatives of ketoximes having insecticidal, miticidal, and, in some cases, nematocidal activity comparable or superior to the most closely related commercial products while having significantly lower toxicity toward mammals than these commercial products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The outstanding pesticidal activity of the carbamate derivatives of the ketoximes disclosed in this invention is surprising and unexpected because the prior art indicates that carbamate derivatives only of substituted aldoximes have high pesticidal activity, whereas ketoxime derivatives were essentially inactive. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,037 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,965 show compounds, possessing pesticidal activity, of the structure: ##STR1## wherein X =O or S(O).sub.n when n= 0, 1, or 2 and the free valences are satisfied by hydrogen or hydrocarbyl radicals. In these two patents, the preferred compounds are aldoximes wherein the carbon atom (C.sub.1) attached to the oxime moiety in the above structure is substituted with hydrogen. In the J. Agr. Food Chem., 14, 356 (1966), the patentees of these patents state, "The data . . . demonstrate . . . the detrimental effect . . . of replacing the aldehydic hydrogen with an alkyl group. All of the ketoxime derivatives . . . were virtually inactive when compared with the aldoxime derivative. . . " Ketoxime compounds of Formulas (I) and (II) below are reported in the reference as being essentially inactive compared to the aldoxime compound of Formula (III) below which is known commercially as aldicarb (Temik). The compound of Formula (II) differs from the compound of Formula (III) only in that a methyl group has been substituted for the aldehydic hydrogen of Formula (III).
The ketoxime compounds of Formulas (I) and (II) have been resynthesized and tested and their reported lack of activity relative to that of the compound of Formula (III) reconfirmed. Surprisingly, however, the ketoxime derivatives of the present invention have been found to possess high pesticidal activity, comparable or superior to that of the compound of Formula (III).